THE FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY

The Friends of New Brunswick Free Public Library encourage library awareness, promote use of the library, and encourage reading and life-long learning. They publicize library activities, enrich the presentations of the library, donate equipment, and raise funds. Become a Friend, and with your annual membership enable the library to share with the community the wealth of knowledge in a speaker or a book.

To become a Member of the Friends, or simply make a donation, fill out the Friends brochure (available for downloading as a PDF here) and mail it in or visit the Library. To view the by-laws of the Friends of the New Brunswick Free Public Library, download the PDF here.

The New Brunswick Free Public Library would like to honor Mrs. Cecilia Claflen, who passed peacefully Sunday morning, June 7, 2015. Mrs. Claflen, in her twenty-six years as a member of the library's board of trustees and four more as a trustee emerti, served as Secretary, Vice-President, and President of the board. She served as a one-person public relations department ensuring that those who helped mold opinion in New Brunswick were informed of the library's successes and progress. Mrs. Claflen's record of good works is extensive. Beyond her other work in the community, she was active in the Friends of the Library that she helped found thirty years ago and of which she had served as President.

FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY EVENTS

"Brown Bag Lunch" Programs
Wednesdays (the first Wednesday of the month) at 12:15 pm in the Library's Carl T. Valenti Community Room. Admission is free; coffee and tea will be served.

June 3, 2015
This month, there will be no "Lunchtime Program." Instead, the Friends of the New Brunswick Free Public Library Annual Meeting will begin at Noon. Light refreshments will be provided.
All current members are invited to attend. If you are not up to date with your dues, you are welcome to attend and renew your membership before the meeting.
Highlights of the meeting include the election of board members; review and approval of changes to the bylaws; and presentations on the Friends and Library activities during 2014 - 2015.
A summary of the proposed amendments and an edited version of the bylaws can also be reviewed online by visiting the following links:

The Friends' Book Club
Mondays (usually the last Monday of the month) at 1:30 p.m. in the Library's Carl T. Valenti Community Room. The only requirements are to have read the book and be willing to discuss it.

Sept. 28 - All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.
A blind French girl and a young German boy cross paths during WWII. 2015 Pulitzer Prize. - or -The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places on Earth by Eric Weiner. A travel memoir by an NPR correspondent.

Oct. 26 - Redeployment by Phil Klay.
A compelling depiction of the Iraq War by a Marine Captain.

Nov. 16 - The Quartet: Orchestrating a Second American Revolution, 1783-1789 by Joseph Ellis.
Ellis writes about the years between the revolution and the formation of a federal government.

Dec. 14 - I'm Not Scared by Niccolò Ammaniti.
Michele discovers a boy held prisoner in the Italian countryside and risks his life to help him.

Jan. 25, 2016 - The Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline.
A novel based on the 200,000 abandoned children sent West from 1854 to 1929 to find new families and provide labor.

Feb. 29 - Love and Treasure by Ayelet Waldman.
A love story with the backdrop of Hungarian Jewish history and the theft of property during WWII.

Mar. 28 - Gateway to Freedom: the Hidden History of the Underground Railroad by Eric Foner.
Based on records of slave escapes, Foner tells of how over 3,000 slaves escaped from the South through the eastern corridor between 1836 and 1860.

Apr. 25 - A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler.
A poignant story of family life.

May 16 - A Legacy by Sybille Bedford.
A chronicle that examines the legacy of the 19th Century and how it changed intolerant and divided societies into places that condoned mass murder.

June 13 - The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown.
During the Depression, nine American working class boys rowed together for the University of Washington, then went on to the Olympics. Their story is juxtaposed against Nazi preparations for the games.

2-Day Book Sale
The Library's Book Sale is an annual event, usually held in mid-April. The Friends organize a wide array of items and sell them at incredibly low prices! There are always thousands of books as well as DVDs, CDs, and more!! The dates for the next Book Sale are scheduled as follows:Friday, April 15, 2016 | 1:00 pm - 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 16 | 10:00 am - 4:00 p.m.
In the Carl T. Valenti Community Room. Please note that the library closes at 5 p.m. on Friday -- only the Community Room will remain open until 7 pm on April 15.